Multiply using Pictures

Third graders now understand multiplication as repeated addition. To further this understanding, here is a fun game, an easy alternative to your regular worksheets, wherein children learn to multiply using pictures. They see a specified number of copies of a group of objects. They can either count the total number of objects or multiply the number of groups by the number of objects in one group.

What’s inside?

- Understand what a multiplication sentence implies by identifying the correct multiplication sentence representing a model.

- Multiply an array of a group of objects by understanding the concept of creating groups.

- Model a multiplication sentence by highlighting the corresponding number of objects in a group and the number of groups.

Real-World Application

When we buy 4 boxes of chocolates with each box containing, say, 5 chocolates each, we can multiply 4 by 5 to figure out the total number of chocolates we have. Similarly, if we know we need a minute to walk 100 meters, we can figure out the total time required to walk a kilometer (1,000 meters) by multiplication.

What’s next?

A good understanding of what multiplication means is a prerequisite for moving onto multiplication facts (times tables). Now that children understand that multiplication is repeated addition and can multiply numbers with the help of pictures, they can now proceed to learn the multiplication facts of 2.

Cool Fact

William Oughtred was an English mathematician and Anglican clergyman who introduced the symbol ‘×’ for multiplication. The adoption of this symbol faced some criticism because some mathematicians thought it resembled the unknown ‘x’. However, its use persisted and now the symbol is widely used.

Common Core Alignment

3.OA.1Interpret products of whole numbers, e.g., interpret 5 × 7 as the total number of objects in 5 groups of 7 objects each.